There are the specific policy proposals coming out of the transition team, including one that could seriously dial back or even eliminate one of the main sources of data on the earth’s changing climate — NASA’s Earth science program.

Cary Fowler, founder of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and the author of a new book documenting its story and its treasures, explains why humanity needs a seed vault at the top of the world to ensure the genetic diversity of our agricultural heritage.

The Paris Agreement came into force just before COP22 in Marrakech, this year’s high-level UN Climate talks that ended Nov. 18. Member countries at the meeting in Morocco are determined to push ahead with implementation, even though the incoming US president vowed during his campaign to "rip up" the deal.

If you've given up on reading paper books for the ease of your e-reader's screen, you may want to step back a bit. Neuroscience confirms that our brains use different areas to read on paper and screens, and you need to exercise both.

Plants have senses that put humans to shame. Not only do they hear (yes, it's true) and smell, they can also sense the presence of water, and even an object in their space. Now new research suggests that plants can actually learn and remember.

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07/04/2015 - 11:30am

El Niño is back. That could mean trouble for crops from Africa to Australia, drought relief for Brazil and California — and new record global temperatures as the Pacific Ocean warms up and brings the heat along with it.

We humans have been dropping "um," "uh" and other expressions of hesitation into our speech for a long time — maybe for as long as we've had language. More recently, linguists are noting a shift in usage across a number of Germanic languages from "uh" to "um."

Scientists are warning West African villagers to stop hunting bush meat and to stay away from fruit bats as they circle in a possible animal source for the latest Ebola outbreak. The Ebola virus lives in fruit bats, scientists believe, and is threatening communities who are already facing the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.

Scientists say a girl born with HIV two-and-a-half years ago appears to have been cured. Though the apparent breakthrough is limited to one infant case, the news may give hope to the millions of people living with the HIV virus around the globe.